


Coming Back Is Hard To Do

by Super_Secret_Slash_Agent



Category: X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: Brothers, Feels, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Past Abuse, Reunions, all knowing charles is all knowing, slight AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-23
Updated: 2013-05-23
Packaged: 2017-12-12 17:38:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,846
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/814198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Super_Secret_Slash_Agent/pseuds/Super_Secret_Slash_Agent
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's a regular day at the mansion when Charles bring in a new guy who is an old face for Alex. Cue brotherly angst, Darwin being a comforting boyfriend, Charles being awesome and the other boys just being plain awkward.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Coming Back Is Hard To Do

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own anything

Alex is curled up with his back pressed to Darwin’s side when he hears Charles enter the room. Without looking up from his surfing magazine, Alex can feel the presence of the new person in the room. Darwin shifts, sensing Alex’s unease and putting his arm over the younger mutants shoulder, allowing his hand to rest on the knee Alex has pressed up to his chest. 

Charles clears his throat, “I would like you all to meet the newest member in our small group. This is Scott.” The name causes Alex’s eyes to shoot up and towards the man that had just been introduced. 

He is taller than Alex, with brown hair and a pair of sunglasses situated on his face. Scott, as he had been called by Charles, is older, most likely four or five years older than Alex but the younger mutant recognizes the face before him, though it is a face he hasn’t seen since he was very young and he still had a family. Scott looks just like his father and Alex immediately knows who he is. 

Without a word, Alex calmly stands and walks over to the man and delivers a punch that send the older mutant to the ground, clutching his face, before Alex calmly walks out as if nothing had just happened, pausing only to glare at Charles as he feels the older man’s mind brush against his. 

As the door shuts behind him, the four left in the room exchange shocked and confused glances. Scott accepts the hands Sean and Darwin extend to him as he stands. Darwin turns to Charles, concerned over what just happened because he know that despite how tough Alex acts, he doesn’t like unnecessary and doesn’t instigate anything physical if he doesn’t have too. “What just happened?” 

Charles turns to Darwin, confusion evident on his face, “I have no idea, and he shut me out before I could find out. Alex has pretty good mental blocks against me but this was new, it was like a wall of pure energy that just pushed me away with no effort at all. It felt remarkably like his power.” 

Scott interrupts the telepath, “Did you just say is name is Alex?” 

Charles nodded, “Alex Summers, goes by Havok in the field.” 

Charles stops as he catches Scott’s thoughts, a moment before he voices them, “I think that was my little brother.” 

Sean, who had been uncharacteristically quiet up until that point, speaks up, “Wait, what do you mean you think he is your brother? Don’t you know your own brother?” 

Scott shook his head, “I haven’t seen him since he was four years old and I was nine. They sent us to different foster homes. I didn’t even know he was still alive.” 

Darwin knows then that the man is Alex’s older brother, the one Alex said abandoned him, because Alex had told only him about his family and the foster homes. Darwin’s gaze hardened as he thinks of the horrors Alex had confided in him and barely manages to sound civil as he speaks to the newcomer, “I’m going to see how Alex is. You should put some ice on your face and don’t go looking for him.” Darwin turns and quickly leaves, already knowing where Alex has disappeared to. 

Sean watches Darwin leave and wonders what caused the ice in his voice. Everyone knows that Darwin and Alex are closer than they say they are so Sean assumes Alex has told Darwin things not even Charles knows, seeing as Charles looks as confused as Sean feels. 

Charles quickly regains his composure, “I apologize for Darwin, he is very close to your brother and is very worried at the moment.” 

Scott shakes his head, “No, he was right. I haven’t seen Alex in a long time; I don’t know what he is like anymore, how I could comfort him. He needs someone he trusts, and evidently he trusts your friend.” Scott sighs and sits down, resting his head in his hands, “I hoped that this hadn’t happened to him, but if he’s here I guess it did.” Scott motioned to his eyes before continuing, “When people found out about me, they said I was a freak. Even my girlfriend and family abandoned me. I didn’t want that for him, to feel the disappointment and see the looks of fear and disappointment on other people’s faces.” 

Charles looked on Scott sympathetically for a moment before steering the conversation away from the sad topic, “Sean, why don’t you take Scott to get some ice. I need to talk to Hank about making another suit and maybe I can drag him out of the lab to join us for dinner.” Sean nodded quickly, leading Scott towards the kitchen as Charles headed down to the lab.

x.X. X-Men .X.x

Darwin stands quietly, watching Alex slowly edge closer to the water and smiles, knowing that the water reminds Alex of the one foster family he had that took him surfing. They had been pretty early on and Alex thought they would adopt him, and the only ones he wanted too, but they had sadly died in a car accident and the only thing Alex had left of them was surfing. 

Alex shifted closer to the pond and called out, “Come on Dar, I know you’re there. You might as well join me.” Darwin’s smile turned sad, knowing that Alex’s hyperawareness came from many bad experiences in prison. Without a word, Darwin sat beside Alex and allowed the smaller mutant to curl into his side. They were quiet a moment, watching the water softly lap at the shore. 

Darwin looked down at Alex and rested his cheek in the soft blonde hair of the distressed teen, “You can’t hide from him forever. He lives here now and don’t think for a moment that I will let you leave.” 

Alex sighed, “I know, I’m just so angry. He left me and it looks like he got to go off and live a nice life and go to college. I’ve killed people Dar, what if he can’t accept me? What if he can’t accept us?” Alex looked up into Darwin’s eyes, allowing the older man to catch the smallest glimpse of real fear behind his words before it disappeared, tightly locked away. 

Darwin drew him in closer, pressing a kiss to the top of Alex’s head, “If he has a problem with any of that, he’ll have to deal with all of us. Hank, Sean and Charles are all here for you as well and they won’t choose him over you.” 

Alex sighed, “I guess I have to face the music.” Darwin stood, offering a hand down to Alex, who took it and pulled himself up. They walked back towards the mansion, their hands still clasped together.

x.X. X-Men .X.x

Scott stares with closed eyes at the table in front of him as Hank examines his glasses. Hank turns them over in his hands in awe, “These are amazing; I wonder how I never thought to use ruby quartz for Alex.” 

Scotts head snaps up, his eyes still closed, “Why would you use it for Alex?” 

Hank freezes, unsure if he should reply. Hank hands the glasses back to Scott and clears his throat, “Well, your powers are very similar. Yours seems to be a constant emanating from the optic center of your brain and Alex’s seem to be tied to the area of his brain that controls emotions. His aren’t a constant presence like yours but it makes it much more unpredictable and dangerous.” 

Charles senses Scott’s apprehension and quickly dispels it, “Alex has progressed greatly, he has much better control than he did when he came to us.” 

Scott sighed, mentally berating himself, If I had stayed with him, looked harder, I could have helped him through it. Maybe he wouldn’t have had to face it alone like I did. Scott put his glasses on and looked up to meet Charles’ sad gaze, looking down again when the professor spoke, “Scott, you mustn’t blame yourself for things that are out of your control.” Scott scowled as Sean and Hank exchanged awkward glances, feeling as if they were intruding on a private conversation. 

Before Scott or Charles could say anything more, Alex and Darwin walked in the room. Scott’s eyes went to their joined hands and Darwin visibly bristled, armor replacing his skin, “You got a problem?” Scott shook his head silently as Alex placed a calming hand on Darwin’s shoulder, silently telling him it was fine and he could handle the situation. 

Alex turned to the other three in the room, “Give us a minute, would you?” Hank and Sean immediately fled, eager to be free of the building tension. Charles paused a moment and met Alex’s eyes, conveying silent encouragement, before trailing after the others. Alex lowered himself in to a seat across from his brother, Darwin standing steadfastly at his side. 

Scott broke the silence, “I wasn’t sure I’d ever see you again.” 

Alex fought to keep his mask up, “Did you look for me? I looked for you as long as I could.” 

Scott nodded his head furiously, “I almost thought I found you a few years back but then you just disappeared.” Darwin placed a comforting hand on Alex’s shoulder, knowing it must have been around the time the blonde teen had been sent to prison. Scott continued on, not noticing the sudden tension, “I missed you so much Alex. When I went to college I spent most of my free time looking for you.” 

Alex looked sad as he asked, “You went to college?” 

Scott nodded, “My foster parents paid for what wasn’t covered by scholarships.” 

Alex’s face fell further and he felt anger well up in him before he managed to hide the emotions flitting across his features, “Were your foster parents good? How long were you with them?” 

Scott smiled a little, thinking of his foster family, “They were the greatest, until they found out about my eyes. I’ve actually been with them the entire time. The wanted kids but didn’t have the money to adopt and they couldn’t have kids of their own.” Scott stopped, finally seeing the pain in his little brother’s eyes, “What about you? How were your foster parents?” 

Alex scowled, “Which ones?” 

Scott blanched, not having thought about his brother being one of those cases in the system that was constantly shuffled around, “How many did you have?” 

Scott was almost afraid of the answer by the time Alex replied, “13 different foster homes.” 

Scott was silent a moment, “13 foster homes in 12 years?!?” Scott’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. 

Alex shook his head, “13 homes in nine years actually.” 

Scott looked confused, “Why didn’t they put you in any home the past couple of years?” 

Alex laughed, startling Scott and causing a sad look to pass over Darwin’s face, “”They don’t usually give you a foster home when you are in prison.” 

Scott’s eyes shot over to Darwin who confirmed, grimly and silently. “Why were you in prison?” 

Alex leaned forward, ignoring the question, “You said your foster parents changed after they found out what you could do, what happened?” 

Scott wanted to return to the previous topic but one look at his brother’s face told him that wasn’t going to happen, so he decided to go along with the new direction. “I got into a car accident, nothing major, but it was right in front of their house. My foster mother is a hospice nurse so she ran out to check on me. I had hit my head and was a little out of it. She tried to check for a concussion and ended up getting a haircut and a nice hole in the windshield. They thought I was a freak and refused to look me in the eye after that. Luckily I was headed off to college so they didn’t see much of me after that.” 

Alex nodded, “How did you find out?” 

Scott sighed, “I used to get headaches all the time, they said they were migraines because I had sensitivity to light. One day, I was just starting high school at the time, it was really bad and next thing I knew the edge of my notebook was on fire. It started off in short bursts, but after a while, I couldn’t open my eyes without it happening. I started wearing sunglasses, mirrored lenses helped but I went through those pretty fast. Then I was working on a geology project and my glasses fell off when I was looking at one of the rocks, and the rock just absorbed it. After that, I put in a special order for a dozen sunglasses with ruby quartz lenses and I’m actually only on the second pair because some jerk broke the first pair.” Scott smiled a little then turned the question on Alex, “How did you find out?” 

Alex smiled softly, “The last foster home I was in, I had a foster sister. She was younger than me and the girls in her grade were making fun of her for being a foster kid. I overheard and was about ready to explode. She dragged me out of there and I ended up blasting a mailbox a couple hundred yards. After it happened she just started giggling like it was the funniest thing in the world. She helped me hide it for as long as we could.” 

Scott let out a breath he hadn’t known he was holding, he had imagined Alex’s story being worse. Darwin winced as the action caused Alex to tense under his hand and he tried to give a reassuring squeeze, but Alex was too worked up by the conversation already. Alex shook with quiet anger, “What, are you relived it wasn’t that bad?” 

Scott blanched, not knowing he had projected his feelings so clearly, “No, I’m just glad you had someone there for you. That you didn’t go through what I did.” 

Alex lets out a hollow sounding laugh, “God, I wish I had it as good as you did. So maybe it was cool for a month or so, that didn’t stop that bastard from trying to take her. Didn’t stop me from hurting him, from killing him.” 

Scott manages to stammer out his surprise, “W-what?” 

Alex stands and runs his hand through his hair, “I’ve killed people Scott. While you got to live your perfect little life I was scared and hurt and I killed people, and you weren’t there. Do you know what happens to guys like me in prison? Young guys with pretty faces and blue eyes? Do you know how many times I had to let it happen or kill those guys before they finally stuck me in solitary? Do you know how many times it happened even before prison, in all those endless foster homes?” Alex was shouting, unable to hold back the anger that had been building in him for years. 

Scott’s eyes widened as Alex started to glow red and rings began forming around him. Alex caught his expression as he paused to breath and looked down and knew he was too far gone to stop now and not anywhere near close enough to the bunker. “Crap.” Alex took off at a run and crashed through the large second story window. He landed with a roll and ran as far from the mansion as he could as the power exploded out of him in brilliant red rings, scorching the ground and taking out a line of trees before dissipating. 

Darwin and Scott had followed as far as the window, the former with a hurt expression for the one he loved and the latter with tears beginning to fall from behind his sunglasses at the pure pain he had witnessed. Darwin watched as Alex collapsed from the exhaustion of the release, he had never had such a large blast before. 

Acting quickly, the adapting mutant sent a mental message for Charles to send Hank to make sure Alex was alright and leaped out the window, his limbs becoming frog like and allowing him to land unharmed before he ran to Alex’s side. Scott watched the stranger bring his brother into his arms and comfort him, not knowing what to do and sure Alex didn’t want him near him. 

Scott turned at the sudden voice behind him and saw Charles, “He doesn’t blame you.” Scott snorted thinking that everything that had just occurred proved that Alex blamed him for everything. Charles shook his head, “He was angry that you got a life he could never have. He doesn’t blame you at all, in fact, if anything, he blames himself.” 

Scott was dumbfounded, “Why would he blame himself?” 

Charles chuckled slightly before his face grew serious, “I have never claimed, nor wanted, to understand Alex’s mind. It is a dark place, filled with dark memories and most are tainted with the red glow of his power, even before it manifested. You lost free use of your eyes with your power; Alex lost free control of his emotions. I’m pretty sure Alex thinks you got the short straw on that one and thinks it justifies what happened to him. It will never make sense to you or I but it does to him and in the end, that is all that matters.” 

Scott sighed, “I just wish I knew how to help him.” 

Charles smiled, “Go to him, and don’t talk about the past. Forget it even happened. See Alex for who he is, your younger brother, and help him train, learn control, and live his life. And might I suggest you put your teaching degree to good use and help him get his GED. That would do wonders for him; he feels it lessens him that he never had any secondary education even though Sean has yet to graduate either. Though I doubt he will ever say any of that to anyone or ask for your help.” 

Scott smiled at the comment, “He always was stubborn, even when we were little. I’ll do what I can, thank you.” Charles quietly left the room as Scott turned back to watch his brother and think on what he had learned.

x.X. X-Men .X.x

Alex sighed into Darwin’s shoulder as Hank pulled more glass from his arms, “Sorry you had to see that Mando.” 

Darwin smiled and ruffled his boyfriend’s hair, “It’s alright, and what did I tell you about calling me that?” 

Alex grinned cheekily, “But it’s fun Mando.” Darwin sighed in resignation, Alex was the only one he let get away with calling him any form of his real name, it was part of a life he didn’t live any more. 

Hank finished wrapping bandages around Alex’s arm and awkwardly patted the blonde’s shoulder before retreating. Darwin chuckled softly, for all the scientist had gained in ferocity when his serum went haywire; it did nothing for his natural awkwardness. 

Darwin pulled Alex up to his feet and looked him in the eye, “You need to go talk to him. Alone this time and try actually talking, not blowing up. I don’t think we have enough trees for a repeat performance.” 

Alex huffed in mock indignation before looking down, ashamed of his outburst, “I’ll talk to him, besides, I don’t think I have enough in me for a second round.” Alex squeezed Darwin’s hand and brought their lips together in a chaste kiss before running off to find his brother, who was almost where Alex had left him. 

Alex sighed as he flopped down on the couch next to Scott, then proceeded to crawl into the elder brother’s lap. It was the only way Alex could think of to apologize as it was one of the few ways he remembered his brother. 

Scott smiled, “You used to do this all the time. I don’t think you ever went to our parents when you had nightmares, you would always curl up around me.” The Summers brothers smiled as Scott wrapped his arms around Alex. Scott stopped, alarmed at the heat emanating from his kid brother, “My God, Alex, are you alright? You feel like a furnace.” 

Alex smiled at Scott’s concern before pulling his brother’s arms completely around him, “It’s a side effect of my powers. I’ve always had a higher body temperature than most people. It freaked out a few foster moms and more than a few school nurses.” 

Scott pulled the blonde head into the crook of his neck, “I’m sorry about that. I wish we had stayed together.” 

Alex bit his lip and mumbled barely loud enough for Scott to hear, “You promised you would come back, but you never did.” 

Scott’s heart lept into his throat at the words, “I know Lex, I know. I tried but they told me I couldn’t. None of the social workers would tell me where you were. I almost thought I had made you up.” 

Alex turned his head to look up at Scott, his hand reaching up and lightly touching the bruise he put on his brother’s face, “I know you looked as hard as you could. I’m sorry about earlier. I know you got it worse with the powers and all, I guess I just had to get the messed up everything else.” 

Scott shook his head, slightly amazed at how right Charles had been, “None of that should ever have happened to you and if I ever meet any of the men that touched you… well you won’t be the only Summers to have been charged with murder.” 

Alex smiled, “Darwin said almost the same thing.” 

Scott paused a moment and Alex felt fear creep back into his thoughts, “What is between you and Darwin any ways?” 

Alex took a deep breath, “Um, well, he is kind of my boyfriend. That’s… that’s not a problem is it.” Scott shook his head and Alex breathed a sigh of relief, “Good, because I love him and, well I love you too and I don’t want to lose either of you again.” Alex caught the confused look on his brother’s face and elaborated, “Darwin was almost killed by another mutant. The guy used my energy to blast him apart from the inside. Darwin somehow managed to survive and adapted by turning into gasses. Eventually he pulled himself back together and made his way here. I felt like I had killed him, but I didn’t and he came back to me. Just like you did.” 

Scott smiles as he strokes Alex’s hair, lulling the younger mutant to sleep. Scott’s eyes grow heavy behind his sunglasses and he allows himself to drift off. When Charles goes looking for them several hours later, he finds them both asleep with Alex in Scott’s lap, the older brother wrapped tightly and protectively around the younger with his cheek resting in a soft bed of blonde hair. 

Charles smiled.

**Author's Note:**

> i completely ignore movie continuity and replace it with my own... deal with it. i also noticed i tend to write emotionally repressed characters who then explode emotional goo on everything and everyone in a five block radius.


End file.
